Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Book Review: Miss Brenda and the Loveladies by Brenda Spahn and Irene Zutell

Miss Brenda and the Loveladies is
an inspirational story of hope about some of the women who sometimes get left
behind in our world and the people who love and care for them. These are women
who end up in prison; sometimes they can even be innocent of their
crimes. After their prison sentences they are often tossed back into the world
with very little direction, sometimes ending up back at the very places they were found
committing their crimes with little or no love and forgiveness from people who
have to live with and around them. Brenda shares about her dream of a Whole Way
House for these forgotten ones, giving them the best possible chance to become valued and active members of society. She goes on to explain how her dream
became a reality and how setbacks in the program often turned around and became
blessings.

I was excited to realize soon after I started this book that it was a true story, and not the novel that I thought it was going to be. I love to hear about places that are educating and helping people get back on their feet after they have had some setbacks in life; I especially love to hear when they are being taught Biblical truths as well. It was interesting to hear about how when people sometimes come into prisons to bring a Bible sermon to prisoners that they will often attend just to get away from other things. So, they might not necessarily always be listening to the sermons but there is a chance that some seeds are being planted into their lives during some of those moments.

I loved the examples of forgiveness that were shared throughout the book,
and the fact that Brenda ran into a lot of situations where she had to forgive
others was interesting, since she was teaching the Loveladies that they needed
to forgive people. I liked how she admitted how hard it was to forgive people
at times, showing just how difficult it can be for everybody. Even though
usually not every single person will want to stop committing crimes I did like
how the women were given a chance to become productive members of society
through the Whole Way House, and it sounded like more wanted to stop committing
crimes than continuing them.

This Whole Way House story about Miss
Brenda and the Loveladies showed me and will show others that anybody is
worthy of a second or many chances until they heal and get their lives on
track.

My review = 5 out of 5 stars

(Please note that the book cover image is not the same as the book cover on my advanced reader's copy. My copy shows a picture of Brenda in front of the Julia Tutwiler Prison.)

I received this advanced reader’s copy
from Waterbook Multnomah. I was not required to write a positive review. The
opinions I have expressed are my own.